If you want it done right, you have to brew it yourself!

Enjoy ringing in the new millennium, but if you are drinking, make sure to get a designated driver! I will be at home enjoying a Boon Mariage Parfait Kriek, as is my custom. Sadly, my own lambic was not done in time to enjoy this year. Hopefully next year.

gak sent word that the new 9.0% ABV Massart's Glory Belgian Strong Ale is on tap at Egan/Gallagher's as well as the remaining five gallons of Steve Olson's Millennium Imperial Stout.

By the way, I am aware that the guestbook is majorly screwed up. Right now, they are overhauling the htmlGear servers. Hopefully, our guestbook will survive the transition. If not, I'll start looking into guestbooks we can run from this site instead of relying on someone else.

Even more cool beer-related news! According to a recent study, moderate consumption of beer (especially dark beers) can may reduce the incidence of atherosclerosis and cataracts by as much as 50 percent. The amount of consumption mentioned in the article is two twelve-ounce beers. Antioxidants in the darker beers are credited with the reduction. To your health!

Leave it to the Dutch. They found a way to draw a beer out of a keg in zero gravity. I wonder how one goes about getting a three-plus year grant to study something like this. Kegger on the space station!

I've got a whole slew of photos that people sent in. I just have to convert them. Stay tuned!

Good news on the Celis front. I'm hearing rumors that Pierre Celis is looking for a partner to go in with him and buy his brewery back. Hopefully we will hear something official.

I also updated the Egan Brewing News. One of these days I'll actually update it the same day gak sends it to me. It includes a nice plug for the club.

While you're at it check out this post on Racker411. I found it to be entertaining.

In case you did have enough reasons to dislike Miller Brewing Co., gak sent along this press release which turned my dislike into full-blown loathing.

MILLER TO SELL CELIS
Miller Brewing Company has announced its decision to pursue a sale of the Celis Brewery and the Celis trademark, according to a December 1 Business Wire press release. Miller has also informed distributors and employees that the decision has been made to close the Austin brewery, effective December 31, 2000.

The decision to close the Celis brewery and pursue a sale of the facility and the trademark, according to the company statement, is based on the Miller's strategic direction to focus on its core brands. Miller will continue to have regional specialty beers with the Leinenkugel and Henry Weinhard's franchises, which play important regional roles within Miller's brand portfolio.

Miller originally acquired its majority interest in Celis in 1995. This past April, Miller acquired 100 percent ownership when the Celis family elected to sell its minority interest in the brewery to Miller. Miller purchased Celis shares as part of a contractual obligation.

For information contact Jeff Waalkes, 414-931-4348 or Julie Kubasa, 414-931-4208.

Let this serve as a warning to all craft brewers who might consider doing a dance with the Devil and making a deal with a megabrewer. I'd like to congratulate Miller on destroying one of the world's great beers so they can make more of their urine substitute. Notice that I left the phone numbers in the press release in case you wanted to give Miller several well-worded reasons why they suck.

I received an email from a Keith Lemcke regarding Siebel Institute of Technology's curriculum. The email invited us to check out their class schedule and make any comments as we see appropriate. Please check out the Siebel Institute's website for all the details. You could even ask gak at our Christmas meeting this Saturday what Siebel's all about--he's an alumnus.

Sorry about the down-time yesterday. They updated the web server at EZ-Net and there were some configuration "issues". We should be all better now. No information was lost or anything, it's just that it couldn't be displayed for a while.

A happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from the staff (OK, me) at Rackers.Org! Root for the Lions! Eat turkey until you fall over! Drink high-quality malt beverages (in moderation, of course)!

gak sent along the latest edition of the Egan Brewing News as well as the announcement of the fifth annual Real Ale Festival in Chicago, organized by Ray Daniels. The festival will be on March 1-3, 2001, at the Goose Island Wrigleyville brewpub.

As if we didn't already know that drinking and driving was bad, gak sent along even more proof. It apparently makes you do gross things:

Drunk Eats Shorts
This is one of those stories that's been bouncing around the Internet long enough we thought it might be an urban legend (in other words, a fabrication). So we tracked it down, found it was reported in the Red Deer Advocate newspaper in central Alberta, Canada, and now feel comfortable passing it along. Last year, 18-year-old David Zurfluh tried to eat his undershorts in the hope that the cotton would absorb alcohol before he took a breathalyzer test. He had been flagged down by a constable when his vehicle was seen weaving as he drove. The constable told a provincial court that Zurfluh ripped the crotch out of his shorts and stuffed the fabric in his mouth while sitting in the back of the patrol car. He was subsequently acquitted of impaired driving because he blew .08% on the breathalizer, which was within the legal limits.

I managed to get a hold of George E. He will be bringing the equipment from the Musicians Union Hall to Egan's for the club brew tonight. Go out and vote, then come to Egan to watch Jay brew up a storm!

Jay Brown agreed to be our brewer this Tuesday. Thanks Jay! Remember to vote first, then meet us at Egan on the seventh!

gak invited us to have our club brews during the winter months at Egan/Gallaghers. Therefore November's club brew will be at Egan. We still need a brewer, however. Email me if you are interested. Before you come to the club brew, remember to go out and vote! And remember your Egan pint glass too--Tuesdays are pint night!

gak sent along a brand, spankin' new Egan Brewing News. In this issue he reveals the sad and probably criminal news that the creeps at the GABF didn't give his beers any awards. That does it, I'm not going to GABF next year. :)

Now that I think about it, we need a brewer for our November club brew! If you would like to put together an extract batch on the club's nickel, email me ASAP!

gak sent me an email with the official announcement of the settlement of the Alltech v. Siebel lawsuit:

Alltech And Lallemand are happy to announce that the lawsuit entitled Alltech Inc., vs. Siebel Institute of Technology, et. al. has been settled. Alltech and Lallemand both feel that settlement of this lawsuit, which arose out of the sale of the Siebel Institute of Technology, is in the best interests of all parties, the Siebel Institute and the brewing industry. Alltech and Lallemand regret that they and those former members of the Siebel Institute faculty whom Alltech hired may have been misled by the circumstances surrounding the sale of the Siebel Institute earlier this year. With this settlement in place, all parties have agreed to end all litigation efforts regarding this transaction.

As part of the settlement, Lallemand and Ron Siebel will retain their ownership of the Siebel Institute of Technology. Alltech will retain five of the former full time faculty members of the Siebel Institute. Other specific terms of the settlement agreement are to remain confidential.

All parties – Ronald Siebel, William Siebel, Lyn Kruger, Lallemand and Alltech – hope that the brewing industry will benefit from having both Alltech and the Siebel Institute providing courses and services to the brewing industry.

Yes, folks, there's a brand new Egan Brewing News for your perusal. Don't forget about the meeting on Saturday! Sadly, I will not be able to attend, but I hope some kind soul will raise a pint of Oktoberfest in my general direction.